Uber Yacht | Image: Supplied

Uber Yachts Lets You Book a Private ‘Limo-Boat’

Dean Blake
By Dean Blake - News

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Readtime: 3 min

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Planning on sailing the high seas around Ibiza, Venice, Athens, Paris, Corfu or Santorini anytime soon? If yes, we’ve got some good news: you’ll soon be able to do it on an Uber Boat. Launching just in time for the European summer season, Uber’s new product offering will see jet-setters able to reserve an eight-hour private yacht trip to explore the outskirts of Ibiza in August.

Sailors will leave Ibiza Town Marina at midday each day, whereby eight people will squeeze into a Sunseeker Yacht for an eight-hour guided tour of the island. Prices for the charter are EUR200 (AUD$320) per head – or EUR1,600 (AUD$2570) to book out the whole boat. Yes, it’s less of the classic “take me here” Uber experience, and more of a day-tripping, tourist thing – but you’ll also get champagne and locally-sourced snacks for the trip.

Uber Yacht | Image: Supplied
Uber Yacht | Image: Supplied

The ride-share giant is launching a similar experience in Paris, where you’ll be able to book in to travel down the river Seine in style: sipping bubbly and watching sights such as the Eiffel Tower, Le Louvre and Notre Dame cathedral pass you by from the comfort of an all-electric cruiser.

“At Uber, we want to give our customers the opportunity to go anywhere, wherever they are travelling,” Anabel Diaz, vice president of EMEA Mobility at Uber said. “This summer, we are adding a series of bucket-list-worthy nautical experiences to the Uber app in some of Europe’s hottest destinations, helping holidaymakers make the most of their trip on the high seas. Whether it’s sailing around Ibiza in your own private yacht or experiencing the Venetian Lagoon by boat, we’re thrilled to add some Uber magic to our customers’ holidays this summer.”

Uber Yacht | Image: Supplied
Uber Boat, Ibiza | Image: Supplied

If you really need to book a boat through Uber now, though, you’ll need to head to Italy or Greece. The Uber Yacht experience kicked off in Venice at the start of July, and will ferry you through the famously aquatic city’s Lagoon at a price of EUR120 (AUD$190) per trip.

According to Uber, there’ll be nearly 200 pick-up and drop-off points on the Laguna, and you’ll be delivered by way of a “Limo Boat”, which is probably a lot faster than being ferried around by gondolas (Limo Boats don’t fit in the canals though, so don’t completely give up on them just yet). Later in July, you’ll be able to book hourly boats between Mykonos, Athens, Corfu and Santorini, helping holidayers skip between the famously beautiful islands for a minimum of EUR200 (AUD$320) per trip.

All of this is assuming the weather and conditions are safe, of course, but it’s an interesting addition to Uber’s suite of services throughout Europe that I wish I had about ten years ago. Are we going to get tours of Sydney Harbour by Limo Boats soon? Probably not, but maybe when summer finally rolls around.

Related: No Driver, No Problem: Uber Eats is Delivering Driverless Orders

Uber Boat, Greece
Uber Boat, Greece | Image: Supplied
Uber Boat, Greece
Uber Boat, Greece | Image: Supplied
Uber Boat, Paris
Uber Boat, Paris | Image: Supplied
Dean Blake

Journalist - Tech, Entertainment & Features

Dean Blake

Dean Blake is Man of Many's Technology, Entertainment and Features journalist. He has vast experience working across online and print journalism, and has played more video games, watched more documentaries, and played more Dungeons & Dragons than he'd care to ...